Stamford man killed in early morning shooting

25-year-old shot to death: Second homicide of year

Raymond Hayward, 25, of 72 Spruce St., was shot to death early Friday morning on Rose Park Avenue on Stamford's West Side.

Raymond Hayward, 25, of 72 Spruce St., was shot to death early Friday morning on Rose Park Avenue on Stamford's West Side.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Raymond Hayward, 25, of 72 Spruce St., was shot to death early Friday morning on Rose Park Avenue on Stamford's West Side.

Raymond Hayward, 25, of 72 Spruce St., was shot to death early Friday morning on Rose Park Avenue on Stamford's West Side.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Stamford man killed in early morning shooting

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STAMFORD -- A 25-year-old West Side man was shot to death on the street early Friday morning -- the city's second homicide of the year.

The man, identified by police as Raymond Hayward, of 72 Spruce St., was shot multiple times on Rose Park Avenue near Richmond Hill Avenue about 3:40 a.m., according to Capt. Richard Conklin. Relatives said Hayward was better known by the nickname "Tank."

Conklin said the motive for the shooting was unclear. Police did not find anyone on foot or in a car near the shooting scene despite officers reaching the man about a minute after gunshots were reported.

Hayward was found in the street about 50 feet up Rose Park Avenue from Richmond Hill Avenue.

The forensics team was on the scene looking for clues, while officers and detectives were canvassing the neighborhood and at Stamford Hospital talking to relatives of the victim.

Supervisory State's Attorney James Bernardi was also on the scene looking at evidence, including a videotape recorded by a camera outside a store where the shooting took place, but he would not say whether police had any idea who the shooter was and if he expected a quick arrest.

"I have no comment," he said, walking away.

The video showed three men on the street just before the shooting occurred and flashes from the gun used to kill the man. Officers taped a copy of The Advocate to a glass door to restrict the view of the videotape being played over and over again on a large screen television monitor inside the Richmond Hill Mini Market at Richmond Hill Avenue and Rose Park Avenue, where the shooting took place.

The camera used to record the events is located about 8 feet off the ground and about 45 feet up Rose Hill from the Richmond Hill intersection.

Hayward left behind a 4-year-old daughter, according to his 73-year-old grandmother, Mildred Bennett, who comforted relatives and friends who came to their Spruce Street apartment to console each other Friday afternoon. They watched a local television news station and passed out plates of food to each other.

Hayward's mother, Brenda, said she does not know how to deal with her son's killing.

"I just want some answers to what happened to my son," she said. "That's it."

His 20-year-old brother, Eric, said Stamford police officers came to their apartment around 6 a.m. to tell the family someone shot and killed his older brother.

"I'm in disbelief," he said. "It's not going to hit me until later on tonight."

Relatives recalled Hayward as a fun-loving man with a good sense of humor. He attended Stamford High School but did not graduate, his mother said. He was looking for a job before his fatal shooting.

"He was just a great nephew," said one of Hayward's uncles, the Rev. Dexter L. Bennett, a pastor for a church in Fairfield, going on to explain how Hayward came from a close-knit family. "It's important for us as a family to be close."

Bystander Helen Ford, who has lived in the area of Richmond Hill and Rose Park Avenue for more than 40 years, said the neighborhood, which in the past has been rife with narcotics activity, is a nice place to live.

"The neighborhood isn't bad," Ford said. "It's the young boys who hang up in the neighborhood. They just hang up here and make the neighborhood look bad. The neighbors should get together and get them off the block. It burns me up," she said.

Ford, the mother of the late Vannes Cody, who was shot and killed on Stillwater Avenue five years ago in June said, "I know exactly what this mother is feeling. I've been there."

Chief Robert Nivakoff said preliminary evidence indicates that the man was targeted.

Police said a red baseball cap was found near the shooting scene and the victim was wearing a red shirt, likely indicating a gang affiliation.

Jodee McDonald, who was standing a few doors down from her home watching police investigate the scene, said she was trying to sleep in the front living room of her home with the window open at 4:40 a.m. and heard the gunfire.

"I heard four pops," McDonald said, adding that Richmond Hill is a pretty tight-knit neighborhood with a Pentecostal Church and hairstyling business where neighbors warn her about who has come onto her property when she is not home.

"This is abnormal. I have never seen this," said McDonald, who moved from New York City to Stamford about a year ago.

"After the store closes, the street shuts down. It is dead quiet. You can hear every bump and pothole. It is quiet," she said.

Naomi Ray, who also moved to the neighborhood from New York City three years ago said she likes living there.

"I know it is supposed to be ghetto, but nobody bothers me or my kids," she said.

Over the years, Hayward has had minor arrests for drug possession, trespassing and criminal mischief.

Staff writer John Nickerson can be reached at john.nickerson@scni.com or 203-964-2320. Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 203-964-2215.